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Philpott Fire: Father Showed 'Little Emotion'

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 23 Februari 2013 | 23.17

By Lisa Dowd, Midlands Correspondent

Mick Philpott showed "little emotion" as he waited in hospital for news of the condition of one of his children following a fire at their home in Derby, a court has heard.

Jade, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six and Jayden, five, all perished in the blaze on Victory Road in Allenton in May last year.

Their brother Duwayne, 13, was taken to Derby Royal Hospital but died three days later after being transferred to Birmingham.

Philpott, 56, and his wife Mairead, 31, deny killing their six children after a "plan" to frame his ex-mistress went wrong. A third defendant, Paul Mosley, 46, also denies six counts of manslaughter.

PC Kevin Cassidy from Derbyshire Police told Nottingham Crown Court that he was appointed the family's interim liaison officer at the hospital.

He said Mick Philpott told him he and Mairead had been asleep downstairs at the time of the fire and they were woken by a smoke alarm.

When Mick Philpott went outside he claimed he climbed a ladder and used a monkey wrench to smash a window, but the "thick, black smoke" beat him back.

He described the father as "clear and concise in what he was saying and he showed little emotion ... his body language was very relaxed ... as if nothing had happened".

The officer said he only showed emotion when relatives arrived, then he was "casual" again. Mairead Philpott, he said, was "very emotional ... nine times out of 10 she had her head in her hands".

The officer said doctors in Derby told the Philpotts that Duwayne would receive "better treatment" at Birmingham Children's Hospital, but that Mick Philpott was "reluctant" to go there.

Fire in Allenton The scene in Derby last year

He told how the father said: "We are not going to Birmingham, I have a court day today with regards to access to my other children." He was, he said, "adamant he wasn't going to go, he had no intention of going".

The prosecution alleges that the defendant was violent towards his ex-girlfriend Lisa Willis and after she left the Victory Road home she shared with the Philpotts, taking her five children with her, he wanted to get the children back.

The officer told the jury that after discussions with a doctor at the Derby Royal Hospital, the defendants went for a coffee for 20 to 30 minutes. The doctor asked where they were because Duwayne needed to be transferred "immediately".

When Mick Philpott arrived back from the cafe, he was bare-chested and said he had spilled coffee down his T-shirt. The officer said he went to find him a hospital gown. The Philpotts were later taken in an unmarked police car to Birmingham.

Earlier PC Joanne Steele told the court that at the scene of the fire Mairead Philpott was "hysterical" and was "shaking, uncontrollable, very, very stressed".

PC Steele said Mick Philpott "seemed upset, but seemed to be pacing, anxious".

She said he told her that his ex, Lisa, had made "threats to kill them ... or set the house on fire".

Neighbour Joseph Peel told the court that he was woken by his dog, and when he looked outside it was "foggy" and "as I scanned I just noticed the door on fire". He said he then saw there was "black, thick smoke" coming out of a side window.

He dialled 999, put his clothes on and went outside. He said he banged on the caravan outside 18 Victory Road and shouted: "Mick, Mick, your house is on fire, we knew Mick used to sleep in there.

"I heard what I believe to be Mr Philpott in the back garden ... he was shouting 'my kids, get my kids out'."

Another neighbour, Daniel Stevenson, fought back tears as he told the court he made a number of attempts to save the children after he heard Mick Philpott shout "my babies" and his wife screaming.

He used a pickaxe and a wrench to try to get in, and only got off the conservatory roof when police assured him firefighters were already inside the property. When he got down, he said he saw Mick Philpott punch his van.

"I think he tried to get in the house," he said. "He was being restrained by police officers."

The trial continues.


23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Beheading: Man Guilty of Brit Gran's Murder

A man has been found guilty of murdering a British grandmother who he decapitated on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

Deyan Deyanov, from Bulgaria, repeatedly stabbed 60-year-old Jennifer Mills-Westley in the neck in 2011 with a knife he had just picked up in a shop.

The homeless 29-year-old drug addict had denied murder, with his defence arguing he was not criminally responsible for his actions because he suffers from acute paranoid schizophrenia, but a jury of nine found him guilty.

After the verdict, Ms Mills-Westley's family spoke of how hard it had been to sit through the evidence but said lessons needed to be learned from what had happened.

In a joint statement, her children said: "It's hard to put into words the devastating impact that this preventable and needless act has had on us as a family - sadly mum was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jennifer Mills-Westley Jennifer Mills-Westley had retired to Tenerife

"It is clear to us that there has been a catalogue of failings - unfortunately it is now left to us to piece these together as we still have so many unanswered questions.

"We would like to make a plea that the care of people like Deyan Valentinov Deyanov is taken more seriously."

Ms Mills-Westley, a retired road safety worker originally from Norwich, was attacked while she was in a shop in the popular resort of Los Cristianos on May 13, 2011.

She had retired to the island in 2006 and owned two apartments in Los Cristianos, one of which she rented out.

That morning, Deyanov had walked into another shop and asked for a "big" knife because he was going to kill someone.

At 10.30am he went into the Mas Articulos Mejor Precios shop on Avenida Juan Carlos I, picked up a 22cm-long knife and plunged it into Ms Mills-Westley's neck 14 times.

He then walked out carrying her head, to the horror of onlookers, before being wrestled to the ground and arrested.

Living rough in Los Cristianos, the crack cocaine and LSD user was well-known to police and had been arrested at least four times since January 2011 for violent offences.

A warrant for his arrest had been issued just three days before the killing but officers had been unable to locate him.

He had previously been sectioned in the summer of 2010 under the Mental Health Act in Glan Clwyd Hospital, North Wales, and again at Tenerife's La Candelaria hospital before being bailed in early February 2011.

The jury found that Deyanov was guilty of murder because he took his victim by surprise and she could not defend herself.

Even though he was suffering schizophrenia and his responsibility was diminished, in Spanish law he is guilty of murder.

The supermarket The shop where the attack happened

Deyanov remained quiet and still as the verdict was read out.

Asked by magistrate Maria Jesus Garcia Sanchez if he had anything he wanted to say, he told his Bulgarian interpreter: "I am the the second reincarnation of Jesus Christ and I will bring the fire of the Holy Spirit to bear against this court."

Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence of 20 years in a secure psychiatric ward, while the defence asked for the minimum sentence of 15 years.

Among the relatives in court were Ms Mills-Westley's younger daughter Samantha, 39, her sister Sarah, 43, from Norwich, and her brother John Smith, 63.

In the joint statement, issued through charity Missing Abroad, her children said attending the trial had been "incredibly hard on us" and said it "has reiterated the horror of mum's death".

They said: "Since the May 13 2011, Jennifer Mills-Westley has become known as the lady who was beheaded in Tenerife.

"The truth is she was our mum, our mentor and our best friend.

"She was a highly gifted, selfless person with so much love in her heart and who has been taken away from us in her prime."


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'Bedroom Tax' To Hit Thousands Of Families

By Emma Birchley, East Of England Correspondent

Thousands of families living in social housing are facing a cut in their benefits from April because they are seen to have too big a home.

The under-occupation penalty, dubbed "the bedroom tax", aims to encourage households to downsize if they have spare rooms, freeing up their properties for larger families.

But council house tenant Eddie Bird says the policy fails to take into consideration individual cases. His wife Shirley has terminal cancer, and weighing just five-and-a-half stone, needs her own room.

"Any form of movement on the bed and it affects my wife. She's in constant back pain," said Mr Bird. "There's no room for separate beds so I sleep in the box room."

They have been told they will lose nearly £14 a week in benefits.

"It's going to affect my wife's quality of life. We have a Motability car but if we can't afford to put petrol in it, we can't go on any day trips."

The Government hopes the policy will make better use of almost a million rooms that are not used and help reduce the £23bn housing benefit bill.

Council house tenant Eddie Bird Eddie Bird says he will lose out despite his wife having terminal cancer

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: "We've put a fairly sizeable sum aside to be able to ensure that those kind of cases can be paid for.

"But the general idea that there has to be a limit on the amount of benefit that people receive I think is a correct one.

"And these are exactly the same kind of rules that have existed in the last few years in private rented (accommodation), so we are applying to public housing.

"If it was good enough for private renting, it's got to be good enough for public housing."

But critics question how you can penalise tenants for not moving somewhere smaller when there simply are not enough suitable sized properties available.

It is something the Coast and Country Housing Association has seen in South Teesside. They have 10,000 properties but only two one-bedroom apartments available.

Chief executive Iain Sim said: "We had the pasty tax last year - this is the nasty tax. This is hitting people directly who through no fault of their own are under-occupying the property that they live in.

"The cut in their benefit will range from 14% for one room up to 25% for two rooms. That's a loss in income of between £10 and £22 a week. That's a lot of money to take from people with very limited incomes."

The change is expected to affect 660,000 claimants.

Some households will be exempt if, for example, a non-resident carer for a disabled person helps at the home overnight.

But as Eddie and Shirley Bird are married they will not be eligible for this exemption. Their only hope is that they will qualify for financial assistance from a fund called the Discretionary Housing Payment scheme, but it is not guaranteed.


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UKIP's Marta Andreasen Defects To The Tories

UK Independence Party MEP Marta Andreasen has revealed she is defecting to the Conservatives, saying they are the "true referendum party".

Less than a week before the Eastleigh by-election, Ms Andreasen said she was quitting, and dismissed UKIP's chances of achieving real power.

Ms Andreason, who was elected as a UKIP member of the European Parliament in 2009, hailed the Prime Minister's pledge on an in-out referendum on EU membership as a "game changer".

It comes amid speculation UKIP could perform well in the crucial electoral test. UKIP leader Nigel Farage chose not to stand as a candidate himself - but has been in the constituency trying to drum up support.

However, Ms Andreasen said she did not believe the party could offer "real leadership".

In an open letter, the South East region MEP wrote: "UKIP has good people in it at grass roots that care about the future of the United Kingdom and our place in a re-negotiated relationship with Europe.

"Unfortunately, their party leader treats any views other than his own with contempt.

"UKIP is his plaything to mould and shape in any way he sees fit, regardless of the views of others, myself included.

"His actions, surrounding himself with an old boys club of like-minded sycophants, are dictatorial in sharp contrast to those of David Cameron, who has shown he can listen, adapt and do what is right for the country, not just for personal gain."

Marta Andreasen with Nigel Farage Marta Andreasen celebrates her MEP win in 2009 with Nigel Farage

Ms Andreasen said Mr Cameron's keynote address on Britain's relationship with the EU last month had convinced her the Conservatives were the "true referendum party".

"The Prime Minister's speech was a game changer. He promised to turn around the European freight train, which is currently heading towards a deeper federal Europe with no options for Britain," she went on.

"I was also reassured by the financial deal that David Cameron got for Britain on the EU Budget. This is a matter very close to my heart and for which I have fought hard, and it is an important step for Britain in this battle."

By contrast, the MEP said Mr Farage's decision not to stand as a candidate in Eastleigh after former Cabinet minister Chris Huhne resigned in disgrace showed UKIP was only a "pressure group".

She warned Eastleigh voters that UKIP had no chance of victory, and supporting the party risked "letting the Lib Dems in via the back door".

Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: "I'm delighted to welcome Marta to the Conservative Party.

"She brings a wealth of experience - and a dedication to fight for what's best for the British people in Europe.

"Her decisive words on the Prime Minister's EU budget negotiations prove that the Conservatives are the only party who can protect Britain's interests in Europe."


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Food Bills May Rise Amid Growing Meat Tests

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

Consumers are being warned that food bills may rise if high demand for meat testing continues.

Since the start of the horsemeat scandal, laboratories all over the UK have been inundated with requests to test different meat products.

At Worcestershire Scientific Services laboratory staff have been working early mornings, late nights and weekends to keep up with demand.

Even some of the equipment has been unable to keep up with almost continual testing.

Laboratory manager Paul Hancock told Sky News that funding is tight, explaining: "The FSA do support the laboratory to a degree but things are very very difficult.

"If the consumer wants quality food they have to be prepared to pay for a degree of policing that."

Checking a meat sample for DNA from other species takes three days and costs between £75 to £100 per sample.

The number of labs capable of carrying out proper testing though has fallen over recent years due to funding cuts. In April, Somerset County Council will close its lab.

Those that remain open operate as competitive businesses rather than sharing information, equipment and practices with each other.

Mr Hancock added: "Ten or 15 years ago the labs used to work closely together that relationship has broken down because of commercial activity and that makes life a whole lot more difficult as well."

Meanwhile, France's agriculture ministry has confirmed that horse carcasses from the UK containing the drug Phenylbutazone - known as bute - have probably ended up in the human food chain.

A spokesman for the French agriculture ministry said it was alerted by British authorities that six carcasses had been exported to France in January but that the meat had already been processed.

Some of the meat was recalled but the equivalent of three carcasses have "probably" been eaten, according to officials - although they insist the health risk is "minor".

Bute is an anti-inflammatory treatment for horses which is potentially harmful to humans and is banned from the food chain.

The latest Food Standards Agency results showed six positive results for horse DNA out of 1,133 tested beef products, but so far no UK sample has been found to contain bute.


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Ski Death: Tributes Paid To UK Schoolgirl

Tributes have been paid to a girl who died after falling from a ski lift during a school trip to the Italian Alps.

The 13 year-old girl, named in reports as Poonam Bhattal from Slough, in Berkshire, was "a beautiful girl" who will be "dearly missed", friends said on Twitter.

One user, @jaskiretxo, said: "Poonam Bhattal a beautiful girl who we were all so lucky to have known, may our thoughts be with Amreeta and her family. RIP beautiful xox".

Another, @TharanVirdi said: "Poonam, You will be dearly missed, thoughts and prayers go out to your family. Waheguru #gonetoosoon #RipPoonam x".

Italian police in the resort of Claviere have spoken to her classmates who said the teenager's skis had crossed with the person sitting next to her, causing her to slip.

The friends said they had ''tried to hold onto her'' but she slipped off. Investigators say she started to slip while about six feet from the ground but eventually fell further up just as the lift operator stopped it after hearing screams.

The schoolgirl was having ski lessons with classmates from the Guru Nanak Sikh Academy in Hayes, Middlesex, when she got on the chairlift around 9.30am.

Although Poonam initially survived the fall, she died while on her way to a hospital 25 miles away in Susa.

Local police commissioner Francesco Destro told Sky News: "The ski lift was moving very fast and rising fast when she fell." He said he could not recall a similar accident.

Mr Destro added that the girl initially answered questions when officers rushed to her aid but "did not make it".

The school's principal, Rajinder Singh Sandhu, broke the news of the teenager's death to her family.

In a statement, he said the half-term excursion was led by the deputy head of the school with the help of two assistant head teachers and "a massively experienced team of eight staff".

"The leader of this trip and everyone associated with it is devastated by the death of an absolutely lovely student."

Skibound, the company which organised the trip, confirmed the report, saying in a statement: "The thoughts and condolences of all at Skibound are with the family, school and friends. All our efforts are focused on ensuring they are supported in any way possible through this very difficult time."


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AAA Credit Rating Lost: Osborne Defiant

George Osborne has come under attack over what Labour calls his "catastrophic economic policy failure" after the UK lost its top-grade AAA credit rating.

International agency Moody's downgraded it by one notch to AA1, citing slow growth and a rising debt burden.

The Chancellor said the coalition would not "run away" from its economic problems and it was determined to stick by its plan for recovery.

The downgrade is a major blow for Mr Osborne, who has been coming under increasing pressure to take action to stimulate the economy.

In the last election, Mr Osborne made safeguarding Britain's credit rating one of his key pledges.

He has used maintaining the rating for government bonds as one of the main arguments for the Government's austerity programme.

The Chancellor insisted the Government was delivering on its commitment to tackle the UK's debt.

He said: "We have a stark reminder of the debt problems facing our country - and the clearest possible warning to anyone who thinks we can run away from dealing with those problems.

"We are not going to run away from our problems, we are going to overcome them."

He added: "In the end, the test of our credibility as a country is there every day in the markets when we borrow money on behalf of this country from investors all around the world.

Moody's credit rating agency Moody's said it did not expect Britain's slow recovery to change

"At the moment we can do that very cheaply with very low interest rates precisely because people have confidence that we have got a plan, we've got to stick to that plan and we are going to deliver that plan."

Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky News: "They (the Government) are paying the price for an absolute catastrophic failure of economic policy and everybody can see that now pretty much other than the chancellor and the prime minister.

"Until they face up to reality, we're just going to have more of the same."

Moody's said Britain's recovery was proving to be significantly slower than previous rebounds from recession and it did not expect the situation to change.

"(There's) increasing clarity that, despite considerable structural economic strengths, the UK's economic growth will remain sluggish over the next few years," it said.

Moody's is the first of the major credit rating agencies to knock the UK off of its top rating.

The ratings agency also cut the Bank of England's AAA rating by one notch, also to AA1. The US' top credit rating was downgraded by one notch in 2011.

Sky's Economics Editor Ed Conway said: "The fact that Britain has lost its AAA crown for the first time since credit ratings were given to the UK back in the 1970s, it's a really big blow to Britain's reputation.

"It's something of an economic blow, but in a way it's more of a political problem for George Osborne. He made a key part of the Conservative election pledge to safeguard Britain's credit rating."

Moody's said that the British economy is constrained both by the troubled global economy and the drag from businesses and the Government slashing its debt burdens.

"Moreover, while the Government's recent Funding for Lending Scheme has the potential to support a surge in growth, Moody's believes the risks to the growth outlook remain skewed to the downside," it said.

Labour has insisted that withdrawing demand from the economy has put it more at risk by stunting growth.

Mr Balls said: "This credit rating downgrade is a humiliating blow to a prime minister and chancellor who said keeping our AAA rating was the test of their economic and political credibility.

"In the Budget the government must urgently take action to kick-start our flatlining economy and realise that we need growth to get the deficit down. If David Cameron and George Osborne fail to do so and put political pride above the national economic interest we face more long-term damage and pain for businesses and families."


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Italy: Briton Held Over Tour Guide Murder

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

A Briton has been arrested in Italy for the murder of a tour guide and the attempted killing of another man.

Jason Peter Marshall, 24, was held by police early on Saturday after they traced him through his mobile phone signal to a late night bus.

Police believe he met both men through gay internet chat rooms.

He was arrested after a 55-year-old man was found severely beaten in the bedroom of his apartment in central Rome, following calls to police when neighbours heard screams and calls for help.

When officers arrived on the scene, the victim identified Marshall as his attacker and described how he had been threatened with a gun, badly beaten with a telescopic cosh and smothered with a pillow.

Marshall is said to have fled the apartment with €400 (£348), credit cards and the victim's iPad as he allegedly tried to erase all traces of contact between him and the victim.

Marshall, who is originally from Greenwich, southeast London, is said to have arrived in Italy last month and police in Rome have confirmed he is also the prime suspect in the murder of tour guide Vincenzo Iale.

The 68-year-old was found strangled and stabbed to death in his flat at Torvajanica, on the outskirts of Rome, four weeks ago with his bank card missing.

Police said Marshall was being held in Rome's Regina Coeli jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, kidnap and possessing offensive weapons.

Sources said the victims had been targeted through gay internet chat rooms.

A Rome police source said: "This could easily have been a double murder investigation and the second victim - although badly hurt - can think himself lucky he is not dead."

No one from the British Embassy in Rome was immediately available for comment and Marshall is expected to be questioned further by prosecutors ahead of appearing before an investigating judge.


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British Man Drowns At Egypt Resort

A British man has drowned while swimming in the sea off the popular Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh.

A British embassy spokeswoman in Cairo confirmed that the 50-year-old had drowned while swimming on Friday.

However, she said she could give no further detail on the circumstances surrounding his death.

Map of Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt The Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh

Sharm el Sheikh is one of the main Red Sea resorts and attracts millions of tourists each year.

More follows...


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Exclusive: RBS Mis-Selling Bill To Add £1.1bn

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will next week set aside another £1.1bn to compensate customers for mis-selling products to consumers and small businesses (SMEs).

I can reveal that the bank is preparing to say in its full-year results announcement next Thursday that it is increasing its provision for mis-selling interest rate swaps by roughly £700m, which will take its cumulative bill to £750m.

City sources say that RBS will also announce that it is raising its payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling bill by just over £400m, meaning it will have put aside just over £2.1bn for its part in the industry-wide scandal.

The new provisions will further elevate the total bill for Britain's biggest banks from two of the sector's biggest mis-selling episodes. RBS's new PPI charge will mean that the four major lenders have had to provide more than £11bn for compensation, while its hit on interest rate hedging products will enlarge the industry bill to £1.6bn.

Neither of those figures will, however, include imminent upward revisions in both categories by both HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group, which also report full-year results in the next ten days.

Both RBS and Lloyds, which are 82 per cent and 39 per cent-owned by British taxpayers respectively, will report losses for 2012.

RBS is also expected to confirm that it is examining a separation of its US retail banking business, Citizens, through a stock market listing in the US, in a move that over time could raise billions of pounds for the British lender.

George Osborne, the Chancellor, is likely to welcome the move when he appears in front of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards on Monday.

Both Mr Osborne and David Cameron have been increasing the pressure on RBS's management, led by chief executive Stephen Hester, to accelerate the group's restructuring.

Mr Hester is expected to respond next week by pointing to a further retrenchment of its investment banking operations. RBS, he is understood to be preparing to say, will continue to reshape its operations into a British retail bank that is also able to support the international business objectives of core UK clients.

The new provisions for PPI and swaps mis-selling will reflect ongoing claims trends and the recent agreement between the major banks and the Financial Services Authority to offer redress to SME customers according to a defined framework.

Barclays added another £1bn to its own mis-selling tab when it reported its full-year results earlier this month.

The major banks have grudgingly accepted the swaps settlement with the City regulator although they have argued that many of the cases for which they will have to pay compensation should not be categorised as mis-selling.

They have also pointed to the vast numbers of bogus PPI claims they have received, many of which have been paid out anyway. The industry has been discussing the imposition of a time limit on PPI mis-selling claims although at least one major bank is lukewarm about the idea.


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